Bed-bottom



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

HENRY H. PALMER, OF ROGKFORD, ILLINOIS.

BED-BOTTOM.

Specication formingpart of Letters Patent No. 51,856, (lated January 2,1866 antedated December 28, 1865.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY H. PALMER, of Rockford, in the county ofWinnebago and State of Illinois, have invented a new and ImprovedBed-Bottom; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in theart to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aplan or top view ot' my invention in an open or distended state; Fig. 2,a side view of the same; Fig. 3, a side view of the same in a foldedstate.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

The object of this invention is to obtain a slatted spring bed-bottomwhich, while being elastic or yielding-equally so as others nowmade-will retain its shape however long in use. The ordinary slattedspring bed-bottoms soon have their slats sprung, so that they assume apermanent hollow form, and when the bed is made up it is uncomfortableto occupy. This difficulty, it is believed, is fully obviated by myimprovement.

A A' represent two rectangular frames, the cross-pieces a a of whichhave spiral springs B attached to them at suitable and equal distancesapart. These two frames may be ot' equal size, and they are notconnected directly together, as will be presently seen.

O represents a series of slats, the outer ends of which are slottedhorizontally to receivea strip, b, of leather or any flexible material.The inner ends of these slats extend a trie past each other, as shownclearly in Fig. l, and they rest upon the springs B. The two outer orside slats over one of the frames, A, and the one outer or side slatover the other frame, A', are connected by metal rods c, while the otherslats are connected by acord, a piece of twisted leather, or otherexible material, d, passing` through eyes at the under sides of thesame. By this means a compound joint is obtained, the outer or sideslats specitied having a stift joint, while the others have a exibleone. The one outer or side slat over each frame A A', at each side, areconnected by transverse bars C', underneath which the outer ends of theother sla-ts bear, and the outer or side slats, near their ends, areconnected with the frames A A' by oblique dexible braces D D, while theouter ends of' said slats are connected to said frames by flexiblevertical braces E. These braces serve as a check for the springs.

To the end of the frame A there are attached two straps, e e, by whichsaid frame and the slats connected with it may be retained in anydesired degree of elevation.

From the above description it will be seen that the slats O arecomparatively short, and each slat supported by two springs, B B. Theslats, therefore, are prevented from springing or warping, so as toassume a permanent hollow form, while the slats are allowed to yield orgive freely under the weight of the occupant of the bed, and thebed-bottom may, for convenience ot' transportation, be folded, as shownclearly in Fig. 3, or the part A may be elevated and retained in a moreor less inclined position by the straps e e for the convenience ofinvalids.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. The upper frame-work of slats composed ot' two setsof slats connected together at the center or at their inner ends, or atany point between their center and either end, by means of a hinge orjoint, substantially as set forth.

2. The compound joint composed partly of metallic and partly ot'tlexible material, substantially as described.

3. The iiexible braces D E, with the dexible straps b, in connectionwith the slatted frames and the rigid lower frames, A A', with thestraps e attached to the former, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of the upper slatted frames with the lower rigid onesand the springs attached to both, all constructed and arrangedsubstantially as set forth.

HENRY H. PALMER.

Witnesses:

SILAs G. TYLER, HENRY P. S'rocK'roN.

